Puzzlemania returns for 2023
SHEPHERDSTOWN — On Dec. 29, in time for the beginning of the new year, the Friends of Music nonprofit organization announced the return of one of its beloved annual community fundraisers in 2023.
The seventh annual Puzzlemania will be held on Feb. 26, from 1-4 p.m. in the Shepherd University Wellness Center, according to Friends of Music member Peter Smith. This will be the first time the fundraiser has been held in its traditional competition month, February, since the COVID-19 Pandemic forced Puzzlemania’s cancellation in 2020. The competition has only been held once since then, in Nov. 2021.
“This is a fundraiser for the Friends of Music and the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra. And it’s always a fun, light-hearted event,” Smith said, noting the orchestra was founded by the Friends of Music in 2008. “It’s family-friendly, and children ages 10-and-older will be welcomed as team members.”
According to Smith, reservations to participate in the competition should be made as soon as possible, due to limited seating.
“This is a good time to mark your calendars and reserve seats for the . . . jigsaw puzzle competition,” Smith said. “The jigsaw puzzle competition will be composed of teams of up to four persons each. Teams will start with the same puzzle and vie with the other teams to complete the puzzle first. The first-place, second-place and third-place teams will be acknowledged and rewarded for their efforts.”
Each team is given the same 500-piece jigsaw puzzle to complete, during the three hour event. The winning teams typically finish long within this time period. However, those who come out in the top three rankings are not always the original leaders in the competition, thanks to an advantage teams can purchase throughout the competition, forcing other teams to wear oven mitts for a minimum of five minutes.
“Most players will want to recruit their own team or teams from friends, neighbors or family members,” Smith said. “Each team will be limited in size to no more than four people.”
For those who would like to participate, but do not know any possible team members to sign up with, Smith encourages them to reserve their seats for Puzzlemania anyway.
“[If you] don’t have a team, [that’s] no problem. [You can] buy an individual ticket for $25 and we’ll find a team for you,” Smith said, noting that the price for a team is $100, regardless of the team’s size.
According to Puzzlemania organizer Heather Marshall, the competition’s proceeds all go toward supporting the Two Rivers Chamber Orchestra and Friends of Music community service efforts, which range from purchasing instruments for elementary and middle schools in the Eastern Panhandle to providing scholarships for local college students majoring in music.
Light refreshments will be available for purchase at the event.
To buy tickets, go to the Friends of Music website at www.friendswv.org. For more information, email info@friendswv.org. Organizations and businesses are welcome to sponsor teams.